Abstract
Decorated stone pestles, batons and vessels (as well as objects made from their fragments), made in a certain style, have been found on many early Neolithic sites of Northern Mesopotamia. These skillfully created in most cases of rare stone carriers of symbolic images, obviously, were the objects of ritual importance, as evidenced by the features of their design, fabrication material, and the reuse for symbolic purposes of their fragments and the context of discovery in the closed complexes. The article considers the issues of determining the focus, areal and chronology of distribution, as well as the functional purpose of these groups of objects of material culture. Most of the motifs and compositions of their decorations refer to the set of known images presented on the items of large and small forms of other categories of symbolically signifi cant objects, typical for the ritual context of the sites of Northern Mesopotamia PPNA, Early and Middle PPNB. At the same time, in some instances rare, sometimes unique forms, as well as motifs and plots in the decoration of stone pestles and vessels made of chlorite indicate the presence of local traditions associated with local production. At the end of the Middle Pre- Ceramic Neolithic B the tradition of skillful production of sculptural stone pestles, batons and decorated vessels made of chlorite, as well as many other symbolic stone objects, faded in Northern Mesopotamia. These changes in the material culture of the population of the region in question, refl ecting the transformation of the social structure and the worldview sphere, were associated with more global processes that led to the beginning of a new stage of Neolithization in the territory of Southwest Asia.
Keywords
Final Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, Northern Mesopotamia, stone decorated bowls and pestles, batons.
Корниенко, Т.В. 2006: Первые храмы Месопотамии. Формирование традиции культового строительства на территории Месопотамии в дописьменную эпоху. СПб.
Kornienko, T.V. 2006: Pervyye khramy Mesopotamii. Formirovaniye traditsii kul’tovogo stroitel’stva na territorii Mesopotamii v dopis’mennuyu epokhu [The First Temples of Mesopotamia. Forming the Tradition of Cult Constraction in Prehistoric Mesopotamia]. Saint Petersburg.
Корниенко, Т.В. 2018: К вопросу об особенностях функционирования властных структур и принципов социального взаимодействия в коллективах охотников-собирателей Северной Месопотамии на пороге перехода к неолиту. Stratum plus 1, 59–76.
Kornienko, T.V. 2018: K voprosu ob osobennostyakh funktsionirovaniya vlastnykh struktur i printsipov sotsial’nogo vzaimodeystviya v kollektivakh okhotnikov-sobirateley Severnoy Mesopotamii na poroge perekhoda k neolitu [On the Peculiarities of Power Structures and Principles of Social Interaction in the Hunter-Gatherer Communities of Northern Mesopotamia at the Threshold of the Neolithic]. Stratum plus 1, 59–76.
Корниенко, Т.В. 2021: Вопросы физической географии, периодизации и хронологии в исследовании первичных очагов «неолитической революции» на территории центральной части Плодородного полумесяца. Вестник Воронежского государственного университета. Серия: История. Политология. Социология 4, 5–16.
Kornienko, T.V. 2021: Voprosy fi zicheskoy geografi i, periodizatsii i khronologii v issledovanii pervichnykh ochagov «neoliticheskoy revolyutsii» na territorii tsentral’noy chasti Plodorodnogo polumesyatsa [Issues of Physical Geography, Periodization, and Chronology in the Study of the Primary Centers of the Neolithic Revolution in the Central Part of the Fertile Crescent]. Proceedings of Voronezh State University. Series: History. Political science. Sociology 4, 5–16.
Мунчаев, Р.М., Мерперт, Н.Я. 1981: Раннеземледельческие поселения Северной Месопотамии. Исследования советской экспедиции в Ираке. М.
Munchaev, R.M., Merpert, N.J. 1981: Rannezemledel’cheskiye poseleniya Severnoy Mesopotamii. Issledovaniya sovetskoy ekspeditsii v Irake [Earliest Agricultural Settlements of Northern Mesopotamia: the Investigations of Soviet Expedition in Iraq]. Moscow.
Палагута, И.В. 2012: Мир искусства древних земледельцев Европы (культуры балкано- карпатского круга в VII-III тыс. до н.э.). СПб.
Palaguta, I.V. 2012: Mir iskusstva drevnikh zemledel’tsev Yevropy (kul’tury balkano-karpatskogo kruga v VII-III tys. do n.e.) [The World of Art of the Ancient Farmers of Europe (Cultures of the Balkan-Carpathian Circle in the VII-III millennium BC)]. Saint Petersburg.
Benz, M., Bauer, J. 2015: On Scorpions, Birds and Snakes – Evidence for Shamanism in Northern Mesopotamia during the Early Holocene. Journal of Ritual Studies 29, 2, 1–23.
Cauvin, J. 1977: Les Fouilles de Mureybet (1971–1974) et leur Signifi cation pour les Origines de la Sédentarisation au Proche-Orient. Annual American School Oriental Research 44, 19–48.
Coşkun, A., Benz, M., Erdal, Y.S., Koruyucu, M.M., Deckers, K., Riehl, S., Siebert, A., Alt, K.W., Özkaya, V. 2010: Living by the Water – Boon and Bane for the People of Körtik Tepe. Neo-Lithics 2, 60–71.
Davis, М.К. 1982: Chapter 3. Тhe Çayönü Ground Stone. In L. S. Braidwood, R. J. Braidwood (eds.), Prehistoric village archaeology in south-eastern Turkey. The Eighth-Millennium BC Site at Çayönü: its Chipped and Ground Stone Industries and Faunal Remains (BAR Intern. Ser. 138). Oxford, 73–174.
Dietrich, L., Götting-Martin, E., Hertzog, J., Schmitt-Kopplin, P., McGovern, P.E., Hall, G.R., Petersen, W.C., Zarnkow, M., Hutzler, M., Jacob, F., Ullman, C., Notroff, J., Ulbrich, M., Flöter, E., Heeb, J., Meister, J., Dietrich, O. 2020: Investigating the function of Pre- Pottery Neolithic stone troughs from Göbekli Tepe – An integrated approach. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 34, Part A, 1–20 (102618). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep. 2020.102618
Dietrich, О., Heun, М., Notroff, J., Schmidt, К., Zarnkow, М. 2012: The Role of Cult and Feasting in the Emergence of Neolithic Communities. New Evidence from Gobekli Tepe, South- Eastern Turkey. Antiquity 86, 674–695.
Dietrich, O., Notroff, J., Schmidt, K. 2017. Feasting, social complexity and the emergence of the early Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia: a view from Göbekli Tepe. In R.J. Chacon and R. Mendoza (eds.), Feast, famine or fi ghting? Multiple pathways to social complexity. New York, 91–132.
Erim-Özdoğan, A. 2011: Çayönü. In M. Özdoğan, N. Başgelen, P. Kuniholm (eds.), The Neolithic in Turkey. New Excavations & New Research. The Tigris Basin. Istanbul, 185–269.
Gündem, С. Y., Erdoğan, N. 2018: A Neolithic Stone Cup with a Sacred Scene. Arkeoloji Dergisi XXIII, 55–64.
Gündem, С. Y., Dağli, M. 2018: Neolithic Stone Vessels from the Mardin Museum. Hitit Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 11, 3, 1837–1845.
Hauptmann, H. 1999: The Urfa Region. In M. Özdoğan, N. Başgelen (eds.), Neolithic in Turkey: the Cradle of Civilization. New Discoveries. Istanbul, 65–86.
Ibañez, J.J. 2008: Conclusion. In J.J. Ibañez (ed.), Le site néolithique de Tell Mureybet (Syrie du Nord) : Еn hommage à Jacques Cauvin (BAR Intern. Ser. 1843 (II)). Oxford, 661–677.
Karul, N. 2011: Gusir Höyük. In M. Özdoğan, N. Başgelen, P. Kuniholm (eds.), The Neolithic in Turkey. New Excavations & New Research. The Tigris basin. Istanbul, 1–17.
Karul, N. 2020: The Beginning of the Neolithic in Southeast Anatolia: Upper Tigris Basin. Documenta Praehistorica XLVII, 76–95.
Karul, N., Kozbe, G., Yavuzkır A. (yay.) 2017: Şanliurfa müzesi. Arkeolojik eser kataloğu. Şanlıurfa.
Kodaş, E., Genç, B., Çiftçi, Y., Labendan-Kodaş, C., Erdem, Ç. 2020: Çemka Höyük: A Late Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site on the Upper Tigris, Southeast Anatolia. Neo-Lithics 1, 40–46.
Kornienko, T.V. 2018: On the Interpretation of Stelae in the Cult Complexes of Northern Mesopotamia during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia. 46/4, 13–21.
Kozłowski, S.K. 1997: The Gods from Nemrik. Al-Rāfi dān 18, 33–44.
Kozłowski, S.K., Aurenche, O. 2005: Territories, Boundaries and Cultures in the Neolithic Near East. (BAR Intern. Ser. 1362). Oxford.
Lebreton, M. 2008: Les récipients en pierre. In J.J. Ibañez (ed.), Le site néolithique de Tell Mureybet (Syrie du Nord): Еn hommage à Jacques Cauvin (BAR Intern. Ser. 1843 (II)). Oxford, 569–573.
Mazurowski, R.F. 2012: Ground and Pecked Stone Industry and Objects of Art. In R.F. Mazurowski, Y. Kanjou (eds.), Tell Qaramel 1999–2007. Warsaw, 72–89.
Mazurowski, R.F., Kanjou Y. (eds.) 2012: Tell Qaramel 1999–2007. Warsaw.
Özkaya, V., San, O. 2007: Körtik Tepe. In M. Özdoğan, N. Başgelen (yay.), Bulgular işiğinda kültürel doku üzerine ilk gözlemler. Türkiye’de Neolitik Dönem. Istanbul, 21–36.
Özkaya, V., Coşkun, A. 2011: Körtik Tepe. In M. Özdoğan, N. Başgelen, P. Kuniholm (eds.), The Neolithic in Turkey. New Excavations & New Research. The Tigris Basin. Istanbul, 89–127.
Özkaya, V., Coşkun, A., Soyukaya, N. 2013: Körtik Tepe. Uygarliğin Diyarbakir’daki ilk adimlari. The First Traces of Civilization in Diyarbakir. Istanbul.
Özkaya, V., Şahin, F.S. 2019: Körtik Tepe 2017 kazısı. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 40 (3), 575–594.
Özkaya, V., Şahin, F.S. 2020: Körtik Tepe kültürü uygarlığın ilk yetkin deneyimi. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 41 (4), 375–389.
Rosenberg, M. 1999: Hallan Çemi. In M. Özdoğan, N. Başgelen (eds.), Neolithic in Turkey: the Cradle of Civilization. New Discoveries. Istanbul, 25–33.
Rosenberg, M. 2011: Hallan Çemi. In M. Özdoğan, N. Başgelen, P. Kuniholm (eds.), The Neolithic in Turkey. New Excavations & New Research. The Tigris Basin. Istanbul, 61–78.
Santallier, D., Maréchal, C., Véra, R. 1997: Éléments de parure du néolithique Syrien. Identifi cation et provenances des matériaux. Revue d’archéométrie 21, 55–65.
Schmidt, К. 2006: Sie bauten die ersten Tempel. Das rätselhafte Heiligtum der Steinzeitjäger. Die archäologische Entdeckung am Göbekli Tepe. München.
Stordeur, D. 2015: Le Village de Jerf el Ahmar (Syrie, 9500–8700 avant JC). L’architecture, miroir d’une société néolithique complexe. Paris.
Stordeur, D., Lebreton, М. 2008. Figurines, pierres á rainures, “petits objets divers” et manches de Mureybet. In J.J. Ibañez (ed.), Le site néolithique de Tell Mureybet (Syrie du Nord): Еn hommage à Jacques Cauvin (BAR Intern. Ser. 1843 (II)). Oxford, 619–643.
Turner, V.W. 1973: Symbols in African Ritual. Science 179 (4078), 1100–1105.
Yartah, Т. 2013: Vie quotidienne, vie communautaire et symbolique à Tell ‘Abr3 - Syrie du nord, données nouvelles et nouvelles réfl exions sur l’horizon PPNA au nord du Levant 10000 à 9000 BP. Vol. 1, 2. Thèse de doctorat, Université Lyon 2. Lyon.